A Second Chance
by TheHungerPains729
Summary: After Jack snobs Kate for following them to try to get Michael back, Kate's on the outsides with him and begins to feel alone again, that is until she finds solace in a surprising friend she didn't know she had. Kate/Sawyer at first but mainly Kate/Charlie
1. The Aftermath

**Title:** A Second Chance

**Spoilers:** Takes place right after s2 ep11 (The Hunting Party) when Sawyer, Jack, Locke, and Kate return.

**Summary:** After Jack snobs Kate for following them to try to get Michael back, Kate's on the outsides with him and begins to feel alone again, that is until she finds solace in a surprising friend she didn't know she had.

**Ship:** Chate

**Disclaimer:**I don't own anything except the plot and the Kate/Charlie ship I captain proudly.

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Chapter One: The Aftermath

. . . .

Kate sat on the beach and looked around her. Locke was settling in for the night, Sawyer had opened up To Kill a Mockingbird, Jack was making rounds to check on everyone, a heaviness in his heart mixed with disappointment, and she was sitting alone with her legs tucked close into her chest as she watched the waves of the ocean flow in and then back out. The last time she had felt this alone was when she found out her own mother had called the cops on her; that had definitely been a very lonely feeling. That was when she knew for a fact that she was on her own. The only other person who was sitting alone was Charlie but he seemed involved as he strummed his guitar with his eyes closed.

She could still just barely make out the faint rope scar on his neck from when he had been strung up by Ethan, if that had even been his real name. She felt a foreign twinge in her chest whenever she looked at Charlie's injuries, but she knew that it went deeper than physical pain. Just like everyone else on the island, he had mental pain as well.

Kate could feel herself begin to feel dizzy from not having drunk enough water on the journey she had taken with the guys earlier. She didn't want to interrupt Charlie so she forced herself to stand up and walked over slowly to Sawyer as he relaxed in his makeshift tent.

"You know, this book has nothin' in here about how to kill damn mockingbirds," Sawyer smirked with feign disappointment. "What can I do you for, freckles?"

Kate gave him a weak smile and ran a hand through her tangled mess of curls. "I just want to ask you something, Sawyer."

He set his book down but continued to grin, searching her face. "I'm an Aquarius," he replied smartly, his dimples visible.

Kate chuckled weakly to herself but regained her composure before she sighed. "I want to know why you didn't stay behind when Jack told me to. You could've taken my place and pushed the button, but you didn't even offer."

Sawyer sat up now with an unexpected look on his face, surprised. "Well I'm sorry, Sweetcheeks," he started sarcastically, "but the last time I checked, we weren't officially together. You sure are swell but if you think I'd give up my chance to get revenge from when Zeke shot me on the raft, you must be out of your damn mind! What difference does it make? You trailed us anyway!"

Kate was doing her best to bite back all the words she wanted to say to him but she could feel herself coming apart at the seams. She wanted him to know how hurt and angry she was but at the same time, she didn't want to lose him as an ally.

"You knew I wanted to go! You _knew_, Sawyer! Why can't you ever swallow your pride and do something to make other people happy? Oh yeah, then you'd actually have to care about something!" Kate yelled at him before she could bite back her words.

Sawyer stood up abruptly now and looked at Kate in what she could only guess was his version of disbelief but there was also anger in his dark eyes. "Careful, sweetheart. You best watch where you step because you're startin' to tread on some very thin ice."

Kate stared back at him, unable to help but feel injured at his lack of actions earlier. She had really thought there was something between the two of them but the gesture of not letting her take his place spoke volumes to her.

"What are you going to do, Sawyer? Going to hit me?" Kate almost challenged but didn't blink as he started walking closer to her.

"Honey, you're most certainly cruisin' for a bruisin' but lucky for you, I don't hit women," Sawyer remarked darkly as he grabbed his book and began to saunter off through the sand down the beach, leaving Kate alone, once again.

She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. There was some sick part of her that hoped he would've hit her, just so she could feel some sort of physical contact with him. Kate blinked away tears that were laced in her olive green eyes before she looked over at Charlie who was watching her with almost sad eyes. She gave him a weak, sad smile before she put her hands in her back pockets and slowly walked over to Charlie.

"Hey, Charlie. Do you mind if… if I join you?"

He looked up at her and scooted over so she had room to sit down beside him. "Yeah, of course. I mean, no, I don't mind."

"Thanks," Kate made herself comfortable and was surprised when she could faintly smell Charlie's scent. It didn't smell like sweat. It smelled like man, though. It smelled like home. "How are you doing?"

Charlie strummed a few cords before he gave her a sideways smile and chuckled lightly. "That's a very broad question," he said quietly. "I'm alright, I suppose. Who couldn't be okay between Michael running off blindly into the jungle after his son, Locke and Jack bickering like an old married couple, and the tailies shooting our own people, right?"

Kate laughed grimly and nodded in agreement. "You have a good point there, Charlie. You always seem to be in high spirits… I don't know how you do it."

Charlie glanced over at her and smiled for the first time in a long time. He rested his chin on the side of his guitar and shrugged. "I have my bad moments, you know? Just like any other person on this stupid bloody island. I guess I just try to see the good in things when I can."

Kate smiled warmly at him and nodded understandingly before her smile soon faded and she looked down at her nail bitten hands. "So what good came out of you being strung up by Ethan and almost dying?"

She must have caught him off guard before his eyes went cloudy for a moment and his smile quickly vanished as well. Silence passed between them for a good five minutes before he finally spoke again. "Maybe… maybe it was to help Jack fix someone, help him regain his faith in himself, you know?"

Kate thought about this for awhile but she couldn't muster up the strength to feel anything for Jack right now. "Maybe, Charlie. So, umm… you're looking a bit… sick. Are you feeling okay?" Kate asked him after a few moments before she placed the back of her hand on his forehead.

He tried to casually move away from her hand and then ran his fingertips over his forehead, gently scratching it in a fetal attempt to get rid of the urges he was feeling. "I'm fine… it's just so… hot out right now. That's all, but thank you, for… for caring," Charlie added tentatively before nodding surely.

"You're welcome, Charlie. You seem to be the only bright spot around here. The last thing I want is for something bad to happen to you," she smiled softly before standing up and dusting her pants off.

Charlie chuckled and grinned up at her appreciatively before he started to fool around with his guitar once again as Kate started to walk away, but looked up to watch her, wishing he could find the courage and the opportunity to talk to her more.

She started to head into the jungle to go for a walk as the sun began to set. She wanted to wash herself off from grim and sweat before she settled down for the night. Kate slowly made her way through the dense jungle, wishing that she could change how things went earlier with Sawyer and with Jack. She wished she had just turned back instead of trailing them. As soon as she found the spring where her and Sawyer had found the case before, she started undressing down to her underwear and used a cloth to clean her arms. She was there for almost forty-five minutes when she heard a cracking sound behind her. Kate tried not to jump as hurriedly put her shirt on over the top of her bra and turned around, looking around for any sign of movement, eying the swaying branches in the brush. She could feel her heart in her throat, half expecting an Other to jump out and attack her. This was one of the moments when she wished that she had stolen one of Jack's guns he was keeping locked in the case.

Her body relaxed when she saw Jack walk out from the brush and glance unsurprisingly at her, maybe even a bit disappointed to have run into her.

"Jesus, you scared me, Jack," Kate chuckled in relief, beginning to put her jeans back on.

Jack didn't laugh in return as he walked over to the water and knelt down to cool his face and neck off. He was silent as he did this, his eyes closed.

"Talk to me, Jack. Please…"

Jack looked back at her and then stood up, shrugging but she knew the kind of look he was giving her. "And say what? What do you want me to say?"

"Say you forgive me! Say that we're okay!" Kate pleaded, looking at him with almost desperate eyes.

Jack sighed, shaking his head as he pursed his lips. He was quiet for awhile as Kate looked at him but she could tell there was something that he wanted to say that he was holding himself back from saying.

"What is it? Say something, Jack! I can tell you want to!"

Jack stormed over to her now, rage in his eyes. "We almost had him! We almost found Michael! They were going to give us him if it hadn't been for you!"

Kate was taken aback by his sudden outburst and she shook her head. "You didn't almost have him, Jack. They wouldn't have given you Michael, even if I hadn't been there."

"You don't know that!"

"I do know that, Jack. They're not the… giving type! They would've probably killed all three of you if you had kept sassing them the way you were!"

"Sassing them? Really? And what do you think you know, Kate?! Do tell me because apparently, you know a hell of a lot more than I do!"

Kate was feeling her own brand of anger and frustration as he unloaded onto her and didn't feel like she had to dignify him with an answer. She was about to walk past him when he suddenly grabbed her arm roughly, easily stopping her from leaving.

"Let go, Jack…"

"Tell me. Tell me what they said to you when they caught you. Did they mention Ben?"

Kate looked up at in utter confusion now. "Who? They barely said two words to me after throwing a bag over my head, Jack. They didn't mention anyone named Ben…"

Jack's grip tightened on her arm until she could tell his fingers were going to leave bruises. "Why? Why did you follow us, Kate?"

She cringed in pain and felt tears well in her dark eyes but didn't look at him. "You know why, Jack! I wanted to help you, now let me go!"

Kate began to walk away from him again but he held her tightly still, pulling her back with more force than she ever felt from him before. He shook his head and felt her try to fight against him, shoving him with the strength that she had. She felt a familiar fear build up inside of her as she struggled against the man she had come to know as a friend. She shouldn't be afraid of him, and yet… she felt panic fill her chest, repeatedly trying to slap him as hard as she could to make an escape but instead was met with a sudden and unexpected slap of his own.

His backhand met her face with such force that it sent her straight to the ground. She was breathing heavy, tasting blood on her lips. Kate looked up at him, swallowing hard, and then didn't waste any time before she forced herself up off the ground and took off running.

"KATE! KATE, COME BACK!"

She ignored Jack's voice. It was no longer the voice of comfort but of someone who she had been trying to forget her entire life: Wayne. She had lied to the Marshall about how Wayne had never touched her. It could've been a lot worse than it was and she hadn't let it get past receiving a physical beating every now and then but she had hoped and prayed that it would've ended once he was gone.

Kate had run for a good half twenty minutes before she realized she had literally run into Sawyer who caught her before she could fall into the sand. She felt hot tears running down her cheeks, which she had internally cursed herself for, and then involuntarily flinched as he grabbed her arms.

"Hey, hey… where's the fire, Freckles?"

She was still breathing heavily as he looked up at him; meeting his eyes and seeing them change appearance from sarcastic to genuine concern. To her surprise, he ran a hand through her hair and then examined her face, moving it delicately to the side to look at the red hand print on her skin and then moved her chin upwards to examine her split lip.

"Who did this to you, Baby?" Sawyer asked with genuine worry.

The nickname was foreign on his lips but it made her stomach twist. "I-I'm fine, Sawyer. I just… I just fell is all," she lied through her teeth.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You think I was born yesterday? If I hadn't heard that excuse from my momma growin' up, I just might actually believe you. Now what actually happened?"

Kate thought for awhile and decided she didn't care about Jack anymore. If he wanted to be like this, then she would appreciate Sawyer's concern for her, even if it was temporary.

"J-Jack… we got into a fight about… about what happened this morning with the three of us and… he did this."

Sawyer gave a disapproving sigh and leaned back, his thumb still gently on her chin, absentmindedly caressing it. "That jackass…. you stay here, Freckles. I'll be right back…"

Kate came to her senses when she watched him begin to storm angrily away towards the direction she had come, knowing instantly where he was going and what he was going to do. She followed him and grabbed his arm.

"Sawyer! Don't… I don't need you to defend my honor," she replied, knowing that Sawyer kicking Jack's ass wouldn't solve anything. "Just let him go."

He struggled at first when she had grabbed his arm but gave him, giving a sideways glare in the direction of the jungle she had come through before his face softened and he turned his attention back to her.

"Are you sure you're alright? It figures he's the only damned doc on the island and he nearly breaks you in half," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm fine, I'll heal. Thank you anyway, Sawyer… really," she searched his face appreciatively and nodded, not wanting her gratefulness to go unnoticed by him. She gently ran her hand on his shoulder.

He nodded in acknowledgement and walked with her along the beach towards her tent. "You know, if you're feeling lonely tonight, you can always crawl into my sleeping bag with me," Sawyer smirked.

Kate chuckled now weakly and shook her head before rolling her eyes. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll pass on that offer."

"Your loss, little lady." Sawyer stopped outside her tent and then looked awkwardly from her to her tent before he finally forced himself to begin to walk back to his own tent.

She watched him, feeling cold and empty once again. Had he actually been truly concerned about her well being earlier? It was so unlike Sawyer. Kate watched him go uncertainly before she crawled into her tent and laid down, listening to the noises outside as the sun started to set.

"Jack! Jack… do you have my medicine?" a British voice asked almost eagerly.

Kate listened intently but anxiously, doing everything in her power not to let herself chew on her bottom lip or her nails at the moment.

"Oh, right." A rattling of a bottle. "Here you go, Charlie."

"Cheers."

She wondered what the medicine had been for. Was Charlie sick with something or was it something worse? Was it like when Shannon was having her asthma attacks? Kate's thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps getting closer to her tent and then soon stop outside the closed flap of it. She recognized the shoes and felt her heart stop in her chest, nearly holding her breath until she saw the shoes finally leave in another direction of the beach. She breathed a sigh of relief and then still felt a panic that she hadn't felt since she was a child living with her mother and Wayne. She waited several moments before she came out of her tent and glanced around nervously.

Kate made her way towards Sawyer's tent and crawled inside of it, making sure the flap closed behind her but stayed in her kneeling position in case he kicked her out. He set his book down and looked like he was about to make a smart ass comment when she saw the apprehensive and scared look on her face. He sat upright and searched her face with the same soft expression she had seen earlier.

"Everythin' alright, sweetheart?"

She silently shook her head briefly and then looked down at her hands, feeling embarrassed. Kate felt like the same terrified ten year old who got knocked around by her drunk father. She felt ashamed; Jack wasn't her father, and he hadn't even been drunk, but the fact that he had been stone cold sober seemed to intensify her fear of the situation.

"Come here, Freckles. It's alright…"

She moved slowly towards him as he scooted over to make room for her and then laid between the crook of his left arm and his side, resting her head on his chest. Kate focused on him caressing her hair with his left hand while his right held his book up and he continued to rid by the small candle that was lit inside the tent.

This felt real. This felt so natural to her, and he felt safe. Safe was never a word she thought she would ever feel with him but somehow, it was true. Kate listened to the sound of the pages of his book turning and the crackling of the fire outside, the faint sound of Claire comforting her crying baby Aaron and all felt right with the world in the safety of Sawyer's arms.

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I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please review so I know whether or not to keep going with it.


	2. Secrets Keep Us Safe

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I got more than I expected to. Please review this chapter too :)**

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Chapter Two: Secrets Make Us Safe

. . .

When Kate woke up the next morning, she felt fingers gently brushing her long curls. She looked up at Sawyer who was looking back down at her with a look of worry. The two were silent for a long time but the silence didn't feel awkward to Kate at all. He moved his hand down to her cheek before he tenderly thumbed her skin and then suddenly he leaned down and brushed her lips with his own. When he pulled away slowly, she searched his eyes for answers.

"W-What was that for?"

Sawyer smirked and chuckled, shrugging. "I just felt like kissing you, Freckles. You were lookin' mighty cute and I couldn't resist the urge."

Kate couldn't help but feel mixed up. She loved Sawyer as a friend and if he kissed her just because he could and because she was there, then how did he really feel towards her? "Wow, you sure are a romantic, Sawyer. You really know how to charm a woman," she replied as she sat up and started to crawl out of the tent on her hands and knees.

Sawyer gently grabbed her leg and easily pulled her back inside before he crawled on top of her as she lay on her stomach. "Hey, where you going? What did I say?"

Kate let him pull her back and sighed, forcing herself to roll over onto her back to look up at him and his stubble. "Sawyer, I don't want to be a one night stand to you. I came to you as a friend in need and you were there for me when I needed comfort. I don't want you to expect… anything if I come here to you again."

He sighed and leaned down before he kissed her lips softly and then nodded. "So I can't use you but you're allowed to use me? That sounds like hypocrisy if I ever heard it."

Kate managed to gently, and at the same time, affectionately, pushed his body back with her foot until he was sitting on the sandy floor, having let her push him back. "I know it's hypocritical but it's not like I'm asking to sleep with you. I'm asking for comfort and… safety. You know that's different, James."

He nodded in agreement and ran his hand through his hair before motioning to her. "Alright then, I guess this conversation is done then. Feel free to take your leave any time, sweetheart," he spoke in his southern drawl.

Kate bit her lip anxiously before she crawled out of the tent and out into the light of the morning. Her muscles felt sore because of how she had been laying beside Sawyer so she started to stretch her limbs out casually, looking around for Jack but thankfully saw no signs of him. She walked through the sand towards her tent to change her clothes when she saw Charlie inside his own poor excuse for a tent, looking anxious as his hands both shook. She hurried over to him and ducked inside, causing Charlie to jump suddenly.

"Hey, are you okay, Charlie? You're shaking… and you're looking pretty pale for being on a hundred degree beach for so long," she exclaimed in concern, searching his eyes as sweat dripped from his hair. "You're sweating; you need to take your sweatshirt off."

He shook his head as he instinctively pulled his sleeves down over his hands and pulled away from her. "No, Kate! I'm fine! Just… just leave me alone!"

She was taken aback by his sudden reluctance as he yelled at her to leave him be when he had been so nice to her yesterday. "Charlie, please… you can't leave it on in this heat or you're going to end up passing out from heat stroke!" Kate urged him as she started tugging at his black sweatshirt again.

He took a deep breath and then grabbed her wrists to stop her, and it was in this moment when he suddenly forgot his own problems and saw the split lip from Jack. He looked at her in concern and let go of her wrists to gently force her chin towards him to get a better look.

"Who the bloody hell gave you that? Was it Sawyer?"

Kate was instantly regretting showing concern for Charlie now as he focused on her. She sighed and shook her head. "I'm fine, Charlie, really. It doesn't even hurt anymore. I'm more worried about you though and you're just deflecting the attention off of yourself."

He looked at her and took a step back deeper into his small tent. "I'm chilly, Kate. That's why I have it on. Alright?"

"Chilly? You're sweating. How can you be cold unless you're sick? And… and I heard you asking for medication last night from Jack," Kate confessed with concern in her eyes.

"Now you're just deflecting the attention off of yourself," Charlie smirked weakly, stuffing his shaking hands into his sweatshirt pockets. "I'm sorry, Kate. I-I just… I need to go… do something but let's hang out later, yeah?"

She would've continued to press him any other time but she was just grateful he had stopped asking her questions about who had attacked her, and he seemed to have bigger problems anyway. Kate walked back to her tent and changed her clothes from last night but took a small sniff of her shirt that still smelled like Sawyer. She smiled to herself before throwing it on the towel of her floor in her tent and threw on a t-shirt and denim jeans before she walked back out of the tent and started heading towards the homemade water trough the survivors had put together to fill their bottles with. She grabbed a nearby empty bottle and filled it with fresh rainwater.

"Kate, I'd like to talk to you," a voice spoke, sending chills down her spine.

"Then talk, Jack."

He ran a hand through his hair and looked around before looking back at her. "I mean, privately."

Kate finished filling her bottle and then turned to him, feeling angry at him for hurting her. She had been hurt almost her entire life that she had grown a thick skin but it didn't mean that she could deal with these people who inflicted the pain on her in the first place. It just broke the trust that she had had for that person.

"No, Jack. There's no way in hell that I'd go anywhere alone with you after what you did," she whispered icily.

He leaned in closer to her until their faces were just a few inches apart. "Have you told anyone?"

"What if I did? Does it really matter anymore?"

"Of course it matters, Kate! I need these people to trust me! We need to trust each other!"

Kate chuckled in disbelief as she shook her head. He was talking about trust after hitting her. Did he seriously expect to still have her trust? "That's really funny that you're saying this because I'm finding it really heard to trust you," she replied as she subconsciously ran her fingers over the growing bruises on her arm.

Jack sighed heavily and glanced around to see if anyone was looking at them but was grateful when he just saw them all doing their own thing. Kate knew why he was looking around and a part of her felt oddly guilty. He was the only physician on the island and if no one trusted him, how could he heal them when the time came? She wouldn't be doing him a favor by making everyone scared of him, but she knew that some people would just be angry at Jack, like Charlie and Sawyer. Kate found herself not caring if they knew about what he did to her. They could handle themselves.

"Kate," Jack began warningly, leaning down to her. "Does anyone know?"

Kate felt her body tensing up the closer he got but she had to remind herself that she have a thing going with Jack at one point. It was stupid to be scared of him now, and that wasn't what her stepfather, who has far as she was concerned, was her real father, taught her. He taught her to be brave and courageous, and strong. She glanced up and saw Sawyer walking over to them slowly, cautiously eyeing Jack and seemed to be waiting to jump in to protect her if he tried to hurt her.

"No," Kate lied. "I haven't told anyone. You're right; people around here do need to trust you, and… I overrated." She knew that she hadn't at all considering the circumstances but she had to make up something.

Jack nodded and then stood up straight again just as Sawyer walked past them. He nodded at James curtly and forced a friendly smile. "Sawyer," he greeted.

Sawyer glanced at Kate and then nodded back at Jack. "Doc…"

Kate listened to him trudge away and then looked back up at Jack. "Are we done here now?"

"Kate, I just want to say… I'm really sorry for hurting you. I don't know what came over me. I guess it's just a combination of the heat and stress. I'd like to put it behind us and continue being friends…"

She looked up at him into his tired, worn eyes. She wanted to tell Jack about the nights Wayne had physically abused her, but she knew she couldn't; that was a secret she would only tell the people who mattered the most to her, and Jack wasn't going to be one of them. "Sure, Jack. Friends…" Kate smiled weakly and nodded before crossing her arms in front of her and then walked away from him towards where Claire and Aaron were, absentmindedly touching her cut lip.

"Hey, Kate… oh my god! What happened to you?"

She instantly regretted walking over here when she heard the familiar Australian accent from her friend. She shook it off and smiled at Claire. "It's really not as bad as it looks. I just got into a fight with our Other friend in the hatch. How are you and Aaron doing?"

Claire still looked concerned but she let it drop. She started to fold Aaron's blankets neatly. "We're okay, I suppose. I mean, we're on an island with a gorgeous beach. It'd be silly to say that we're doing horrible, wouldn't it?"

Kate smiled and shrugged. "I don't know. We're on an island but… we're also at war with its indigenous people. I suppose it could be worse though," she chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Claire chuckled too and nodded. "Very true. Hey, have you seen Charlie around lately? We haven't talked lately and… I've just been worried about him."

Kate raised an eyebrow and walked closer to her. "Actually, I saw him earlier. He was being stubborn and wouldn't take his sweatshirt off. He said he was cold… it has to be almost ninety degrees on this island almost on a daily basis. I don't know how he could be cold."

She looked over at Claire who seemed to be just as confused as Kate was. At least she didn't know anything that she didn't. Kate feared she would have to ask Jack about it. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

Claire shrugged. "I don't know. That's strange. Maybe he's coming down with the flu or something…"

"Maybe… " Kate glanced around and saw Charlie sitting complacently by the water now, seeming to enjoy the sunlight. "Or not. He's out of it now. Maybe he really was just chilly," Kate felt ridiculous suggesting it but she didn't believe that was what it was. She knew it had to have been something deeper. "I'm going to go talk to him for a bit. Are you okay here? Do you guys need anything?"

Claire looked out at Charlie and then back to Kate before smirking. "Nope, I think we're good here. Go and have a chat with him."

Kate smiled and then walked over to Charlie before she sat down beside him. "Hey! Are you feeling better?"

Charlie looked over at her and smiled blissfully, finally feeling relaxed again. "Aye, I'm great! I think I just needed to get some warmth from the sun. I guess I've been spending too much time indoors," he chided but his eyes wandered to her lip again.

Kate lay down beside him, a few inches between their bodies as they both lay on their backs. "When are you going to tell me what's really going on with you, Charlie? I thought we were friends."

Charlie sighed and looked at her, his eyes examining the bruises on her arm. "Just as soon as you tell me who put that fresh coat of bruises on you, Kate. Whoever the git it is that's doing it, you don't deserve to be hit like that, Kate."

Kate was quiet for several moments and felt pitiful when the hand closest to him reached over through the sand and laced her fingers with his own. She just wanted to feel some sense of safety and comfort. "I know. I know I don't, Charlie. It was a one time thing. It's not going to happen again," she seemed to try to convince herself more than him.

It had to only be a one time thing. If she let Jack do that to her again, then that would be her own fault for not reacting instinctively. She would only have herself to blame at that point.

"Right," Charlie said, seemingly unconvinced. "Well I suppose we're entitled to have our own secrets. No one knows each other that well on this island. It feels… safe… to have secrets, doesn't it?"

Kate felt him start to gently caress her hand with his thumb now. It felt soothing. It felt so natural. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, no one knows your secrets. They can't ever hurt you with them, or shove them back in your face. They can't blackmail you or threaten you with them. You're safe," Charlie knew he was just rambling now but he was trying to do everything in his power to avoid spilling everything to her. They were friends but who was to say that she wouldn't ostracize him or tell everyone in the camp about them?

Kate gently squeezed his hand and then looked over at him. She wanted him to look at her but he seemed to keep his eyes closed. "What if… your secrets weren't that bad? What if your secrets were just… there…and no one could hurt you with them?"

Charlie took a moment to think about this but came up with an answer. "If your secrets couldn't be help against you, then I suppose your fears could, which are almost the same thing. Is there something you want to tell me, Kate? I'm very good at keeping secrets," Charlie smiled.

Kate smiled softly and searched his face. "What do I get for it in return?" She semi joked.

He squeezed her hand in his own rough one gently. "You get a free conscious. Umm… how about… a nice picnic on the beach?"

Kate laughed and then nodded approvingly. "Okay. Deal. You can't… go beat up anyone though after I say this, Charlie," she replied seriously.

Charlie opened his eyes and laid on his side to focus his full attention on her. "I won't, Kate."

She stared at him skeptically. "I mean it. It would… mean a lot to me if you didn't."

He nodded and then gently lifted her chin up to look him in the eye. "I swear, I won't go beating up anyone, no matter how much of a scumbag he might be."

Kate ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. "My… father used to beat my mom and me up. He started hurting me when I was seven, and he was drunk every time he did it. I'd tell my mother and she just… seemed so afraid of him doing something worse to me if she mentioned it so… she never brought it up to him. She lived in ignorance and turned a blind eye to it all…"

Charlie scoffed and shook his head. "Bloody wanker…"

Kate might've laughed if she hadn't been focused on what had been haunting her for years. "I wanted her to call the police and tell them, I wanted him to stop hurting me, and her…"

Charlie searched her eyes as the clouds started to hover ominously overhead. "Did he? Stop hurting you and your mum?"

She nodded knowingly and decided to tell him what happened. "Yes, Charlie. He did… because… I made sure he passed out one night in his bed and I turned the gas on," she whispered to him, fearing his reaction.

Realization hit Charlie's somewhat clouded eyes and his heart sank slightly but his demeanor seemed to stay the same. "Good. He got what he deserved then," he said surely.

"You're not afraid of me?"

"No, why should I be? You did what you had to do. He might've killed the both of you eventually if you hadn't killed him first, Kate."

She relaxed slightly, having anticipated a much greater reaction from him. Even Jack had pretty much lost it when he had seen her mugshot, even though he didn't know her story. Kate smiled gratefully at Charlie and continued to hold his hand. "Thank you, Charlie. I really needed to hear that. You… have no idea how long I've waited for someone to tell me that what I did was right."

He smiled back at her and then leaned in before pecking her forehead gently. "Of course. Now… about that picnic…"

Kate chuckled as thunder rolled overhead, seeming to shake the whole ground under them just as it started to downpour. She shrieked and stood up before she started towards shelter, but felt a gentle hand pull her in another direction, towards his slightly larger tent set up. She hurried through the sand with him as rain washed her skin and teased her hair lovingly. By the time they had gotten to the tent, the two of them were totally drenched in water. He wrapped his arms around her as they sat down and make sure the water couldn't reach them. She relaxed against him, allowing herself to enjoy this moment with someone she trusted. It happened so rarely that when it did come, it felt nice.

She stayed there with him, watching everyone else scatter around to find shelter. As the rain came down, she felt her eyelids growing heavy and soon enough, they both let themselves fall asleep against each other, Charlie's arms wrapped protectively against Kate's smooth body.


End file.
